SAGINAW, MI — Despite an eye witness labeled by a defense attorney as “not only not credible, but incredible," a judge has ordered a Saginaw man to stand trial in connection with a shooting outside an after-hours club.

About a month after prosecutors charged her with two 15-year felonies in an alleged fatal drunken driving crash, Tashundra L. Crafton on Tuesday, Feb. 26, turned herself in to authorities and appeared for Van G. Williams Jr.'s preliminary hearing.

It was Crafton's absence as Williams' scheduled preliminary hearing earlier this month that led Saginaw County District Judge A.T. Frank to dismiss the eight felonies charges that Williams, 27, faced in connection with the Nov. 24 shooting of Crafton's boyfriend, Jamar Conerly, outside the Thunder Room, 1630 E. Genesee on Saginaw's East Side.

Prosecutors immediately re-issued the charges, which include conspiring to commit first-degree murder, and Williams' preliminary hearing, intended for a judge to determine whether probable cause exists for trial, was scheduled for Tuesday before Frank.

Tashundra L. Crafton

Crafton was the main witness for the hearing, as she is the only person to identify Williams and his co-defendant, Christopher J. Smith III, as the shooters in the incident.

She testified that after two rival gang members fought inside the club and were escorted out of the club, three separate fights began in the club's parking lot. Conerly, who worked at the club but was only a visitor that early morning, was involved in breaking up all three fights, Crafton said.

As Crafton tried to pull Conerly back inside the club, somebody pushed her over, she testified. Smith then stepped over her and fired a gunshot, Crafton said, before handing the gun to Williams, who fired numerous more shots.

As she lay on the ground, Crafton watched as Conerly was shot, she testified. Conerly's mother, Janice Essex, testified that Conerly was shot 10 times and is paralyzed from the waist down.

Crafton said that as he lay on the ground, Conerly told her he could feel the bullets in his stomach. Conerly, believing he was about to die, told Crafton what to tell his parents, but she told him he would survive, she said.

She told Conerly that she knew who shot him and asked him if he wanted her to tell the police who it was, Crafton testified. Conerly told her he did, she said.

Crafton said she described the shooters to police but couldn't identify them until seeing them on Facebook pages associated with parties she promoted.

While Crafton was calm as she answered questions from Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Paul Fehrman, that demeanor changed as Williams' attorney, Edwin Johnson III, cross-examined her.

Johnson numerous times pointed out differences between Crafton's testimony during Smith's December preliminary hearing, her Tuesday testimony, and the statement that police reported she gave the night of the shooting.

Those differences included the cause of the fight, who was involved, when she told police about there being two shooters, when she described them, and when Smith and Williams were armed.

The exchanges between Johnson and Crafton were contentious and sometimes argumentative, with Crafton often not allowing Johnson to finish his questions and not directly answering Johnson's questions.

Crafton accused Johnson of “trying to twist my words” and said that police reports “twisted” her statement.

“I described everybody,” Crafton said. “Now what the detectives did, that's on them.”

As Johnson questioned her about who was involved in the fight inside the club, Crafton asked, “What's this got to do with your client shooting my boyfriend?”

Judge Frank often had to interrupt the exchanges between Johnson and Crafton. Toward the end of Johnson's cross-examination, Johnson began chuckling as Crafton accused him of trying to confuse her.

“You're confusing yourself,” he replied.

Fehrman only called Crafton and Essex, Conerly's mother, to testify. In a move unusual for defense attorneys in preliminary hearings, Johnson called one of the lead detectives, Nicholas Olivo, to testify.

Olivo testified that his “initial” understanding of the cause of the fight was somebody from out of town flirting with a Saginaw man's girlfriend. The understanding was that the boyfriend was the shooter, Olivo said.

Olivo acknowledged that Crafton is the only person to identify Williams as the shooter or even being at the club and that he wasn't aware of a second shooter until Dec. 18.

“As I understood it on the night of the 24th, there was one shooter,” Olivo said.

Crafton's comment on Dec. 18 about a second shooter was so subtle, Olivo said, that he didn't initially catch it. He didn't get Crafton's full explanation of the second shooter until days later, after Smith's preliminary hearing.

In arguing that Frank should not bind Williams over for trial, Johnson said that Crafton “changes her story entirely” about 30 days after the incident.

“This woman is not only not credible, she's incredible,” Johnson said. “All we have is this woman and her changing story.”

Johnson labeled Crafton a “demonstrated liar” and argued, “If the state wishes to pursue charges against Mr. Williams, perhaps they should develop some evidence.”

Fehrman, the prosecutor, said that the “only thing confusing” about Crafton's testimony was Johnson's line of questioning. The portions of Crafton's testimony relevant to Tuesday's hearing, Fehrman said, have remained consistent.

In binding Williams over for trial, Frank said probable cause existed and pointed out that it is up to a jury to decide guilt.

Three days after the shooting, city officials on Nov. 27 closed the Thunder Room, citing multiple violations including the club not having a business license. The building had operated as an after-hours club, similar to the recently closed Lime Lite Club and VIP Lounge, since the summer months, sources said. Patrons at the club could bring in their own alcoholic beverages, sources said.

Christopher J. Smith III

In addition to the conspiracy charge, Williams is charged with assault with intent to murder, carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, possessing a firearm as a felon, and four counts of possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony. Smith, whose Feb. 26 trial in Circuit Court was postponed, faces the same charges, except the felon possession and accompanying felony firearm charge. Both men remain jailed.